Students work in groups to address school-related issues and draft legislation, Oct. 3. (Cecil Witherspoon)
The Student Government Association closed its second student senate meeting of the semester with a new, more inclusive look for the legislative process. As the meeting wound down during the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 3, senators gathered into “breakout groups” to discuss what issues they felt might need to be addressed with legislation.
Senators from colleges formed one group, while student organization representatives filled out the rest of the groups.
SGA President and political science senior Zetta Cannedy said that previously, the cabinet and executives handled drafting legislation. Now, the legislative branch has a chance to take the lead.
“One thing we’re introducing back to student government this year is legislative committees,” Cannedy said, adding, “Basically what they do is we give them freedom to address whatever problem they see on campus, and they’re expected to produce one piece of legislation per semester.”
SGA President and political science senior Zetta Cannedy talks to Associate Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Matt Park, Oct. 3.. The upcoming SGA meeting is scheduled for Oct. 17 at BAC Lone Star. (Cecil Witherspoon)
Sigma Tau Delta senator and English education senior Tiffany Nguyen said the group discussion format allows students to share and refine their ideas without the pressure of attempting to create legislation on their own.
“I really appreciate it because it helps a lot of new senators such as me kind of develop new legislations and get an idea of it without completely going off on our own,” Nguyen said, later adding “It is very intimidating to have one individual create their own idea and explain their idea. And with a collaborative group, they’re able to discuss more, gain more ideas and perspectives when formatting this legislation.”
Cannedy said the groups discussed topics like adding a fall break, bringing in worldwide career readiness studies, stocking menstrual products in dorm bathrooms and adding more vending machines on campus. She added that having senators draft legislation allows for a broader spectrum of perspectives.
“Generally only executives or cabinet members have written legislation, and that’s not really fair for like 15 people to be speaking for the whole student body, especially when we have senators that are supposed to represent every little facet of our student population,” Cannedy said.
Students from various organizations engage in discussions about the current issues at MSU, Oct. 3. (Cecil Witherspoon)
Accompanying the new format is a new speaker of the senate, music education junior and Fain College senator Gage Oliver.
Oliver said part of the reason he hoped to be speaker was to keep order in how the Senate operates.
“I also really just wanted to be Speaker of the Senate because, really, honestly I spoke about it in the meeting, I think the rules and how things are run are very important to keep things flowing, and that’s just something I’m really passionate about,” Oliver said, adding, “If those rules aren’t enforced then our senators can’t properly do their job, which means we’re also taking a voice from our students.”
Oliver added that the new format of legislating helps students not get too stressed, which aids in running things in an orderly fashion.
“We had those small breakout sessions and committees just to give groups of students the ability to work together and collaborate so that a single student isn’t put with all that stress. That’s where the bulk of our work actually comes from is those legislative breakout sessions, because they give students the opportunity to actually implement what their constituents need,” Oliver said.
The next student senate meeting will be Oct. 17 in BAC Lone Star.
